1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a reclining apparatus and an automotive seat provided with the same.
2. Background of the Invention
For example, in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Disclosure No. 6-58740, there is disclosed a reclining apparatus provided with a first bracket attached to a seat back, a second bracket attached to a seat cushion, a first shaft forming a rotation center of the first bracket, a spiral spring spirally wound around the first shaft and biasing a rotation in a forward direction of the first bracket, and a rotary damper decelerating a rotating speed of the first bracket against an biasing force of the spiral spring.
However, in the reclining apparatus mentioned above, the structure is made such that the first shaft forming the rotation center of the first bracket is concentric with the second shaft forming the rotation center of a casing of the rotary damper, and the rotary damper is arranged in a further outer side of the spiral spring arranged in an outer side of the second bracket. In other words, since the structure is made such that the rotary damper and the spiral spring are arranged in series, there is a problem that a width of the apparatus cannot help being enlarged. For example, in a motor vehicle, it is general that an installation space of the reclining apparatus cannot be sufficiently secured between a seat and a vehicle body, and it is hard to install the reclining apparatus having a large width. On the other hand, in order to make the width of the reclining apparatus small, there can be considered that a thickness of the rotary damper is made thin. However, in this case, there is generated a problem that a braking characteristic of the rotary damper is lowered.
Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open Disclosure No. 1-107708
Patent Document 2: Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open Disclosure No. 6-58740